Tech Falls 72-54 to Florida Atlantic

Titas Vainauskas hits 1,000th point in loss against FIU

MIAMI, Fla.-Senior forward Titas Vainauskas (Vilnius Lithuania) led Florida Tech 2-3) with 17 points while notching his 1,000th career point having started
the game one point shy and finishing 1,016 points. This 72-54 loss for the Panthers was the first time this season Vainauskas has stepped up and led the
team against the NCAA Division I Florida International University Golden Panthers (3-2) at the PharMed Arena. Vainauskas also led Tech under the boards
with six rebounds.

Tech’s leading scorer for the season, senior forward Ryan Maultsby (Vero Beach, Fla.) was only able to play in the first half after taking a blow to the
face and was benched due to an eye injury for the rest of the game. Head Coach Mims relied on key reservist Matt Hill (Ft. Myers, Fla.) to step in a play
for Tech. Hill led his team with three assists.

Two other Panthers sophomore guard E.J. Murray (Rockledge, Fla.) and senior guard Desmond Greene (Rockledge, Fla.) each scored in the double figures.
Greene nabbed all eleven of his points in the second half, while Murray led all players from the arc going 4-8 in three point shots.

The Panthers stuck close in the first ten minutes of the game while Vainauskas tied it up at 10:49 hitting his free throw to make the score 14-14. Despite
the Panthers run early they were unable to gain the lead against the Golden the Panthers.

The Panthers showed some good defense in the last ten minutes of the game forcing the Golden Panthers to turn the ball over 12 times. Overall, Tech had
only 16 turnovers to FIU’s 22 for the contest.

Shooting was Florida Tech’s down fall in the first half hitting on 21% from the field to Florida International’s 55%.

Senior forward Ivan Almonte (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) notched his fifth season double-double tallying the game high 23 points and 17 rebounds.

The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday hosting their season opener Sunshine State Conference game against SSC rival Rollins College at 4:00 p.m.
concluding the women’s contest.